Piercing of various parts of the body for insertion of jewelry has been conducted by humans for thousands of years for a variety of reasons. Some piercings are completed for religious or spiritual beliefs and ceremonies while others are for ornamental purposes. The most common piercings are those in lobes of the ears, but a variety of other locations both in different parts of the ear as well as other parts of the body are not uncommon. For example, ear piercings are commonly formed in cartilaginous parts of the ear like the helix, concha, or tragus, among others.
Common earrings include a thin stud that is inserted through the lobe of the ear and retained in place by a clutch installed thereon. However, some subcultures or piercing “purists” employ larger body jewelry that requires or forms much larger piercings in the lobe or other portions of the ear. The body jewelry worn in these piercings is often held in place without the use of a clutch or other fastener and may require insertion into a piercing by stretching the piercing to allow passage of an enlarged end of the jewelry and then allowing the piercing to shrink or return to an original size to retain the jewelry therein in a frictional or obstructive engagement.
These body jewelry pieces are available in a variety of types. One type of body jewelry that is often used in cartilaginous parts of the ears is referred to as an industrial piercing. The industrial comprises an elongate rod with enlarged ends that is typically disposed to extend through a pair of piercings in the upper portion of the ear. Another form or variation of an industrial piercing is a spiral piercing which includes a spiral shaped body that is disposed in two or more piercings in the ear and may spiral or wrap around an edge or the scapha of the ear.
Gauge-style earrings comprise piercings in which a small initial piercing is created through, for example, the lobe of the ear. The piercing is then expanded or stretched over time by placing incrementally larger earrings therein. These earrings are referred to by their diametrical size measured using the American Wire Gauge (AWG) standard or in millimeters. Such earrings include those referred to as a taper and a gauge. A taper typically includes a generally conical body that is larger at one end than the other. An enlarged ball or similar feature may be disposed at the point thereof. The taper may be employed to slowly expand the piercing. The weight of the taper can apply a stretching force on the piercing as a result of the expanding shape of the taper as it is pulled through the piercing. Gauge-style earrings generally comprise a ring, also known as a tunnel, or a plug that is disposed within the piercing.
Piercings and/or clamps or wraps have also been employed to support audio devices, such as hearing aids and speakers, on the ear of a user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,086,288 to Klein describes a wireless earring headset that is attached to the lobe of a user's ear via a stud extending through a small piercing in the user's ear and held in place by a clutch or clasp coupled to the stud. The headset includes a speaker that is directed toward the user's ear canal and a microphone disposed on a boom directed toward the user's mouth. This configuration with the large body and the microphone boom extending therefrom may be found by users to be bulky and unattractive for wearing in public or in a social setting.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,536,150 to Ryann describes a wireless earpiece assembly configured to give the appearance of an earring. The assembly is attached to the lobe of the user's ear via a stud or clasp which fully supports the assembly. Other contact with the ear is avoided to reduce discomfort caused by long-term use. The assembly includes a coupling mechanism or hoop on which a speaker and a casing are disposed. The speaker is positioned to direct sound toward the user's ear canal and the casing is suspended from the coupling mechanism and houses operational components of the assembly. Although, the configuration described by the '150 patent is ostensibly designed to resemble an earring, the speaker is fully visible and disposed adjacent the ear of the user during wearing of the assembly.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0308069 to Stott describes a gauge-style piercing with a speaker disposed therein. The speaker is directed outwardly and away from the user's ear to enable the user to hear audio outputs therefrom while also retaining the ability to hear sounds from their surroundings and environment. The '069 publication teaches that such a configuration is necessary to ensure the safety of the user and to avoid bulky or uncomfortable headphones that are placed in the user's ear canal and that block out environmental noises. However, such a configuration broadcasts the audio outputs to the user's surroundings, which may be unwanted by the user or by those nearby.
A need exists for body jewelry disposable in a piercing and with an integral audio device that can be disguised as ornamental jewelry when not used as an audio device. A need also exists for such a device that is configured for gauge and cartilaginous piercings.